BlueLena
Ned Berke has a diverse work background in the media industry. Ned currently serves as the Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) at BlueLena, where they lead strategic and product development to grow reader engagement and revenue for independent publishers. Ned also holds the position of Vice President, Audience Strategy at BlueLena, working with publishers to drive audience growth and consumer revenue strategies.
Prior to BlueLena, Berke worked as the Program Director, Audience Development at the Center for Cooperative Media, providing consulting and training services to news publishers. Ned also led the digital transformation of the Brooklyn Eagle as Editor In Chief, doubling readership and increasing email signups during their tenure.
Berke's experience also includes roles such as Entrepreneur-In-Residence, Audience Development at the Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism, Director of Product & Audience Development at LifePosts, and Founding Board Member at LION Publishers. Ned has demonstrated expertise in audience development, product management, and mentorship in the media industry.
Ned Berke earned a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism and Media Studies from Rutgers University between 2002 and 2006. In 2017, they obtained a certification in Product Thinking for News from CUNY Graduate School of Journalism.
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BlueLena
BlueLena was founded by an experienced team of publishers, journalists and newsmedia marketing executives to create a sustainable future for independent local media. We do so by deploying world class technology, and delivering the expertise and professional services to build and support subscription, membership and donation models for long-term success. In the short time since our founding in early 2020, we have quickly grown to support leading community-based media brands coast-to-coast across the United States and Canada, including in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, Detroit, St Louis, Boston, San Francisco, Cleveland, Denver, Tampa, Orlando, San Antonio, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Charlotte, Raleigh, Little Rock, Washington, DC and many other markets. Our 200+ member publishing consortium represents a diverse mix of non-profit and for profit newsrooms, pure digital and print plus digital publications, as well as established and new media brands. Our clients represent membership with Local Media Association (LMA), LION Publishers (LION), the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN), the Black Press Association (NNPA), the National Association of Hispanic Press (NAHP) and the Association of Alternative Newsmedia (AAN). We facilitate the sharing of best practices through a weekly newsletter, a community Slack channel, and monthly Zoom meetings where we spotlight success stories from across the BlueLena publisher consortium. BlueLena is founder-funded and backed by investment from Automattic (owner of Newspack), Local Media Association and Old Town Media, a New York-based firm that has supported the American Journalism Project, The Colorado Sun, Block Club Chicago and Chalkbeat, among other successful media-related projects.